As the county board prepares to finalize its 2014 budget, commissioners continue to try to whittle expenses down. On November 26, 2013, Cook County Sheriff Mark Falk defended his request for another dispatcher/jailer position in 2014. When he applied for a job as a City of Grand Marais police officer in 1989, the job entailed 20 hours of law enforcement... READ MORE >
The ISD 166 school board was happy with its new auditing firm after a presentation of the Fiscal Year 2012/2013 audit by Deb Medlin of Wipfli at the school board meeting on November 21, 2013. The school’s fund balance as of June 30 was $1,340,833, well over the minimum balance of 35 days of operating costs set by the board... READ MORE >
A grand opening for the Cook County Community YMCA is slated for Saturday, January 4, 2014. Branch Executive Director Emily Marshall updated the county board on progress on the facility at its November 26, 2013 meeting. Marshall said she has been making presentations throughout the community. “We think the community perception is changing,” she said. The community has been divided... READ MORE >
The ISD 166 school board took action on November 7, 2013 on the issue of whether to impose an end time to afterschool activities on Wednesday nights, but they did not do so unanimously. Some students have church activities on Wednesdays and have reportedly been penalized by not being able to play in games because they have left practice early... READ MORE >
A lot of work has been done by the Schroeder Township Park Task Force to create a design plan for the park adjacent to Father Baraga’s Cross on Lake Superior, but some of the residents along Baraga Cross Road aren’t very happy about it. A homeowner near the park spoke up at the November 12, 2013 township board meeting, but... READ MORE >
On October 31, 2013, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation designating November 2013 as National Native American Heritage Month and November 29, 2013 as Native American Heritage Day. Similar proclamations have been declared by the president every year since 1994. “From Alaskan mountain peaks to the Argentinian pampas to the rocky shores of Newfoundland, Native Americans were the first to... READ MORE >
A recent disciplinary action at Cook County High School (CCHS) has some community members upset. One Saturday night in October, several students and a recent grad let themselves into the school so they could play basketball in the gymnasium. A parent who had previously been involved in the athletic program gave them the key, following a long tradition of CCHS... READ MORE >
At the Tuesday, November 12, county board meeting, the board discussed the Cook County-Grand Marais Economic Development Authority’s (EDA’s) decision to write off $100,335 owed to it from Superior National at Lutsen Golf Course (SNL). The same thing was done in 2011 with $69,000 in debt. A memo from EDA Treasurer Scott Harrison explaining the EDA’s rationale stated, “If and... READ MORE >
Commissioner Bruce Martinson has been working hard to compile data comparing the staffing levels of 12 counties considered comparable to Cook County in population and size. He presented the information to the county board on November 11, 2013. Comparing one county to the next is complicated, because counties don’t all do business the same. Positions in one department in one... READ MORE >
Rural counties in Minnesota are being asked to adopt resolutions prohibiting backyard garbage burning, but doing so could shift financial responsibility for enforcement to the counties instead of the state. This summer, Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Edward Ehlinger and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Commissioner John Linc Stine sent a letter to public health officials and solid waste administrators... READ MORE >
